Lubricant



Patented Mar. i2, 194% LWRECAANT Jersey No application November 29, 193i,

aerial No. iiiflfifi t @laima (@i. t'iii) My invention relates to a novel lubricant and to the method of producing the same.

The lubricant of my invention, while being adapted for all uses to which ordinary lubricants are put, is particularly valuable in the textile industry because it is substantially non-splashing and, in one of its forms, is water soluble.

Regarded merely from the standpoint of lubrication, several present day lubricants are entirem) ly satisfactory, but when the problem of prestainless lubricants. A fundamental cause of the trouble, is the absolute necessity of a saponifiable oil or fat being present in the lubricant because without it no emulsification can be achieved. When the lubricant is applied air, heat, pressure, friction and moisture simultaneously attack the exposed neutral glyceride molecules in the thin film of lubricant. Decomposition of the same sets in slowly at first and then with increased rapidity and the amount of free fatty acids is increased daily. The inherent destructive power of these acids on the gliding, turning, and spinning metal mechanisms is well known especially when the above mentioned physical forces are constantly in action.

40 These simultaneous physical forces combined with mechanical and chemical reactions will produce free fatty acids of various character, metallic salts of very complicated molecular structure and microscopically fine metallic powder, so that the oil spots formed von the fabric by the lubricant are composed of an ever changing suspension of these organic and inorganic materials in the mineral oil.

The fibres of the fabric are very rarely clean 80 or untreated, and therefore it is only natural that highly complicated chemical reactions set in between these impurities in the oil stain or spot and the many chemicals such as, dyestuffs, sulphonated oils, water proofers, metallic fillers, etc., present in and on the surface of the fibres.

The result of these reactions is the formation of absolutely new products mostly chemically combined with or fixed to the fibre structure itself,

causing very tenacious but wholly undesirable changes in the appearance of the finished oods. The efiort at removal of these spots and the preparation of these faulty pieces for fabrication into garments, such as dresses, hose, etc is in most cases futile and very expensive. It is, therefore, usually cheaper 'to discard the spotted pieces and compute the loss as a loss in production. 7

The use of pure refined mineral oils, free of saponifiable oils or fats, as lubricants would eliminate the creation of free fatty acids, but it would not prevent the accumulation of free metallic particles, which when they arein direct contact with the fabric may cause spots which are as dimcultly removable as stains caused in the presence of and in cooperation with free fatty acids.

Added to this difflcult situation is the further factor that in many cases it isnecessary to wholly discard the application of solvents to remove these mineral oil stains for numerous reasons whichare'well known in the art.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal object of my invention is to provide a lubricant which will have a maximum inherent oiliness combined with the highest needed viscosity but still of a relatively thin body to secure good fluidity and lively circulation, thus rendering such a lubricant substantially non-splashing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricant of this character which is water soluble so that any stains or spots formed on fabrics may be readily removed.

In carrying out my invention I achieve these objects by providing a polymerized mineral oil, which is substantially non-splashing and, if desired, I render the polymerization product water soluble by ,incorporating therein suitable substances or compounds, such as naphthenic glycerine esters.

I found, as the result of exhaustive experiments, conducted with a great variety of oils:

1. That under like mechanical and local conditions, oils with lower viscosities have a greater tendency towards splashing than higher viscosity oils. r

2. That as-bet ween oilsof the same viscosity I those with the higher grade of inherent oiliness have the lesser tendency towards splashing.

3. That oils produced from straight run distillation fractions develop a longer lasting and better adhering film and, therefore, cause much less spotting, than lubricants withthe same viscosity but produced through the compounding of different fractions.

In preparing my novel lubricant, I polymerize a desired mineral oil with the aid of a catalyst consisting of a raw caoutchouc dissolved in a mixture of spirits of turpentine with naphthenic acids. The desirable proportions for thecatalyst are three pounds of raw caoutchouc to twenty five pounds each of spirits of turpentine and naphthenic acids. The catalyst is preferably prepared by either of the following methods:

A. Cut the caoutchouc into small, thin strips and place same in the solvent mixture using any kind of a metal container with a loose fitting lid. Stir the contents twice or three times a day and in about two weeks most of the caoutchouc will be dissolved. The contents of the container are then passed through a fine metal screen and placed in a cool storage place; or

B. Place the container charged with the solvent and caoutchouc on a hot water bath and keep the temperature at about 40 to 50 C. Agitate from time to time and in three or. four days the caoutchouc solution will be ready for screen- 1ng.. i

Polymerization of the selected mineral oil, in

accordance with my invention, iseffected as follows:-'

Charge a steam jacketed kettle, equipped with a mechanical agitator turning at to revolutions per minute, with 4750 pounds refined mineral oil obtained from an asphalt base crude. Turn on agitator and stir in 12 pounds of the caoutchouc solution. Now turn on the steam and regulate same so that a temperature of 115-l20 C. will be reached in about four hours, steady agitation being continued during this period. Hold this temperature for one hour, remove the heat and with continued agitation allow the mass to cool down naturally to a temperature of 60 C., at which point the water cooling system is brought into play and the mass is brought down to room temperature. a

The catalyst contains 0.118 per cent dissolved caoutchouc. The untreated mineral oil had a viscosity of 1000 at 100 F., while after polymerization the viscosity was 1976 at the same tem-. perature. Before treatment, the oil film displayed -'no particular stringiness when tested between two fingers by placing a spot of oil on one finger,

pressing the fingers together and then drawing themapart. After polymerization, however, when tested in this manner, long, visible, hair fine strings are obtained. This stringy molecular structure will not change nor will it be lost through being subjected to the most severe work- 1 ing conditions, nor will long periods of storage affect this structure. The combined increase in adhesion and oiliness will produce an oil film which will resist the throwing of the centrifugal force and thereby will eliminate splashing.

The following practical test was made to determine the non-splashing property of my novel lubricant. A five hundred pound pneumatic hammer was dropped from a height of three or four feet on such a polymerized oil film, having a viscosity; of only 150 seconds at 100 degrees F. (Saybolt); and not the slightest splashing occurred. Not only films of the thinness of a sheet of paper are capable of resisting such tremendous power, but even a layer of lubricant as thick as a normal leather belt if hammered with sledge Place in a steam jacketed kettle, equipped in the same manner as the kettle used for the polymerized mineral oil. Turn on agitator and stir in 40 pounds of naphthenic glycerine ester. Heat,

with steady agitation, up to 100-105 C. Hold this temperature for one-half hour and thencool slowly, with agitation alone, until air temperature is reached. By testing, I found that the addition of the 11% of glycerine ester hardly affectedthe viscosity at all, reducing it not'more than -70 seconds at 100. F.

' Ejample 2 Place in the kettle 2000 pounds par'affine base mineral oil, 2000 pounds asphalt base mineral oil, 10 pounds of the catalyst and 500 pounds of glycerine ester. Start agitator, apply heat and bring the contents of the kettle'to a temperature of 105-115 C. Hold this temperature forabout one hour, thereafter shut oil steam and cool down, with agitation, to air temperature.

.. Example 3 Charge the kettle with 4000 pounds of asphalt base mineral oil, 12 pounds catalyst and 550 pounds ammonium naphthenate. Apply heat and agitation and bring the contents of the kettle up to 105 C. Hold this temperature for 30 minutes, then] stop the steam and cool down, with agitation only, to atmospheric temperature.

Example 4 Charge the kettle with 4000 pounds of technically pure white mineral oil derived from an asphalt base, 8 pounds of catalyst and 500 pounds of light colored naphthenic glycerine ester.

Manufacturing proceeds as in Example 3, above. I claim:

1. As a new compound, a water soluble lubricant comprising a naphthenic ester and the .product of polymerizing a mineral oil in the down the reaction product, and then treating the product at a temperature of about 105 C. with a naphthenic ester.

3. The herein described method of producing lubricants which comprises heating a refined mineral oil in the presence of a catalyst consisting of a solution of'caoutchouc in spirits of turpentine and a naphthenic acid thereby forming a polymeriza'tion product of said oil, cooling said product, reacting the cooled polymerization product under heating with a naphthenic glycerine ester and cooling down the final product.

' ARMIN JOSEPH KRAUS. 

